Former Assembly candidate arrested on drug charges (4rd update)

February 7, 2013

A Malone man who ran for state Assembly in 2010 was allegedly found with 100 bags of crack cocaine in the hood of his clothing when police raided a Harlem apartment on Jan. 25.

Rudy Johnson, 64, was one of three people arrested when the New York Police Department executed a search warrant at 8:25 p.m. Jan. 25 at 201 W. 115th St. in Manhattan, according to an NYPD complaint obtained through the Manhattan district attorney's office. Johnson, 68-year-old Willie Burgess and 58-year-old Cynthia Garrett were charged with class B felonies related to possessing more than one-eighth of an ounce of a narcotic with intent to sell.

Police did not say how big the bags were that they found in Johnson's hood, or how much of the drug was in each.

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Rudy Johnson takes part in a debate in Saranac Lake during a state Assembly campaign in 2010.(Enterprise file photo)

In addition, police reported finding 33 bags of crack and four pipes containing crack in the apartment's bedroom. Police said an informant had observed all three defendants inside the bedroom.

The building where the bust took place is on the same block as a building that houses a middle-high school (Frederick Douglas Academy II) and the Wadleigh Secondary School for the Performing and Visual Arts.

Johnson was arraigned in Manhattan, and although the prosecutor requested bail be set, the judge released Johnson without bail to reappear in court April 24, according to the DA's office.

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The Enterprise left a phone message for Johnson at his home late Thursday morning; he hasn't yet replied.

Malone village police said they have received a copy of the New York City arrest report. Johnson lives within village limits.

In 2010, Johnson, a Democrat, lost a three-way race for the Assembly district that includes Clinton and Franklin counties. He campaigned vigorously in Saranac Lake, knocking on doors and attending local events, but Janet Duprey, the incumbent and Republican, won handily. Conservative Party candidate David Kimmel was also in the running.